HARDWARE: TOXIN!
by hthrun
Summary: Jake breaks out of jail with a little help.


HARDWARE 112: TOXIN! (by Henry Thrun) 

"Guards! You have to let me out of here! Officer Patrick Mulligan is in danger!"  
"QUIET!" one of them shouted back at me. "You're not going anywhere."  
"We don't have time for this!" I unleashed Toxin, who covered me in his symbiotic strands and formed a "costume" on me. I ripped out of my bindings and stood up. And I realized that I had a right arm! Toxin formed an arm for me that felt as natural as my left one.  
"What the...!" The guards both drew their guns.  
"See? It's me, Toxin! You have to let us save Pat!"  
"Stay back!" These guys seemed to freaked out to listen and we didn't have time to waste. We ripped off the bars and the guards started firing. Instinctively, we used symbiotic "tentacles" to knock away each bullet. Other guards came running in, firing. We created a bone "armor" covering Toxin. It consisted of several flat plates that were like Toxin's teeth. The bullets did damage, but we continued to re-grow plates as we charged the guards. They jumped out of the way in a panic and we bashed our way outside. "Somebody call for help!"

Once we were out, we drew back our armor and started web swinging. "Mulligan's moved," said Toxin, who possesses amazing tracking abilities. We started heading towards him. "How did you bat away those bullets and make that armor? Pat's never done anything like that!"  
"I don't know," I replied, "but it just seemed like second nature. Just like this web swinging. I don't even have to think about what I'm doing."

We found Carnage with Mulligan in no time. Carnage, still visibly shaken up from his earlier battle with Toxin, webbed Pat to the top of another tall building. "Toxin's going to come looking for you, and when he arrives I'll..."  
"Get your & kicked!" screamed Toxin as we swung up and kicked Carnage clear off the building. We ripped Pat out of the webbing.  
"Toxin?" he said in a very weak voice. "But who..."  
"It's me, Jake," I said as I pulled back Toxin's face to reveal mine. "Let's get you out of here before Carnage..." and right then a Carnage dagger barely missed us. We turned to see Carnage climbing back on the roof.  
Carnage saw my face before I finished covering it back up. "Perfect!" he said. "Now we _both_ can get revenge!"  
"Both?" And Carnage pulled back his face to reveal the snarling, growling face of Sledgehammer, one of Animax's first and most fearsome creations.  
"No way!" I cried in shock.  
"Let's tear them apart!" Toxin yelled.  
"We have to get Pat out of here!" I retorted as we dodged a few more daggers. "But I promise we'll get another chance at these guys, buddy."  
"Alright," replied Toxin. We grabbed Pat and jumped off the building. We affixed Pat to our back and started swinging away, but Carnage soon followed hurling daggers. "How are you dodging those daggers so well?"  
"It must be Spider-sense," I replied, dodging another as we swung.  
"But I don't _have_ Spider-sense!"  
"I know, but I don't have time to think about it now!" We still couldn't shake Carnage. While Toxin's abilities were somehow amplified with me as his host, Carnage was also benefiting from having Sledgehammer as a new host. "We have to take Pat someplace safe, but we can't lead Carnage towards more people!"  
"Good luck with that!" cried Toxin.  
"Wait... I know..." I then released our webbing at the top of our swing, soaring up into the air. We reached back and pulled Pat from our back, holding him in our arms. I then generated a pair of large, bat-like wings from Toxin and we started flying straight up. Carnage tried to hit us with webbing but was unable. We flew away while Carnage's scream pierced the night sky.

Toxin disguised me as a police officer and we took Pat to a hospital. We waited with him until his wife and son showed up. "Thank you, Jake."  
"What about me?" asked Toxin.  
"And thank you, Toxin. Jake, would you mind watching him for me?"  
"It would be my pleasure," I replied. "Take your time."

We stepped out into the hallway. "Now what?" Toxin asked. "Everyone's looking for us."  
"Eventually we'll have to turn ourselves in..."  
"Oh hell no!"  
"Don't worry, bud, there are a few other things I want to do first..."

We went outside and camouflaged ourselves against the building. We climbed up the outside and used Toxin's tracking talents. We climbed up to a window and made myself visible with Toxin hidden. I knocked on the window and inside Felicia rolled over in her bed. She opened her eyes and saw me. She got a look of joy and amazement on her face. She cupped her hands over her mouth and rushed over to the window. She tried asking me something but I couldn't hear her through the window. I pointed to my ear and shook my head. She nodded but still had a large smile on her face. We just waited there like that for a minutes. Then I pointed to my wrist as if I was wearing a watch. She nodded and I dove off the building, shooting a strand of webbing to a nearby building and swinging away. Felicia, feeling so much better, watched in amazement. I couldn't wait to see her and talk with her again, then I could explain where I got my "spider powers."  
"So that was your girlfriend?" Toxin asked as he encompassed me once again.  
"Well, I wouldn't say she's my 'girlfriend'..."  
"She's hot!" I laughed. "So now what?"  
"First I want to stop by and visit my brother." Samuel was living with me in New York now, or at least before the whole Civil War thing started. It worked out really well in that he was able to watch over a lot of my stuff while I was gone. "I just want to let him know I'm ok and make sure he is. Then I have some other friends I want to visit..."


End file.
